Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty
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| “Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist” | |
|---|---|
| Monk episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 16 |
| Guest stars | Wings Hauser Emmanuelle Vaugier |
| Written by | Peter Wolk |
| Directed by | Andre Belgrader |
| Production no. | T-2363 |
| Original airdate | March 17, 2006 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist" | "Mr. Monk and the Actor" |
| List of Monk episodes | |
"Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty" is an episode of the USA Network series Monk.
[edit] Plot synopsis
While Capt. Stottlemeyer and Lt. Disher celebrate their successful capture of drug lord Miguel Escobar, Monk receives the news that he has been selected for jury duty. Although Monk protests that he works alone, Natalie thinks it will be good for him to work as a team. After an unsympathetic judge dismisses Monk's plea that he couldn't share a toilet with twelve other people, Monk finds himself sitting in on the case of a young man accused of stabbing a man in the thigh then stealing the money he is carrying.
The other jurors are convinced he of the accused's guilt, but Monk shows how the stab wound and the hole in the victim's jeans show the victim was sitting not standing when attacked. The wound was self-inflicted and the knife placed in the accused's hand while he was sleeping so he could pocket the money himself. Several of the jury members change their vote, but Monk is distracted by a dog sniffing around a dumpster outside the window. Monk manages to call to Natalie, who is bringing him his lunch, to call Stottlemeyer and tell him there's a body in the dumpster. Disher finds the body of a woman with no i.d. but wearing orthopedic shoes. Monk remembers her as a woman sitting in the assembly room as the jury was chosen.
The following day, Monk shows the jurors the towel the accused used to stem the bleeding from his thigh wound. The blood pattern is consistent with the towel having been neatly folded, even though the accused claimed to have picked it up off the floor. The other jurors are convinced, all except Juror No. 12, Pat, who changes her vote to guilty before leaving for the bathroom. Monk finds traces of lime on Juror No. 12's jacket, just as was used on the dumpster to hide the body. Juror No. 12 killed the old woman and took her place on the jury. She changed her vote because she wanted to delay the verdict and stay in the jury room.
Monk asks the other juror's to help him catch her out. When she returns, they all switch their votes to guilty, even Monk, to see her reaction. She reacts by producing a gun, knocking the bailiff unconscious and leaving the jurors bound and gagged to their chairs. She draws the blind down, but leaves it uneven which disturbs Monk. Juror No. 12 is planning to free her boyfriend, Miguel Escobar, as he is escorted from the courthouse into FBI custody. Natalie, passing outside, sees the uneven blind at the jury room window and knows something must be wrong. She frees Monk and they phone Stottlemeyer who is able to capture the two as they try and escape.
